David Charles Faustin, 62, unexpectedly passed away on June 12, 2024, while building his dream home for his family on the beautiful shore of Lake Michigan. He is survived by the love of his life, his wife, Janice (née Davis); daughters Alexandra (Eric), Jacqueline, and Victoria; mother Diane Hugo Ritter (Howard); sister Cari Ann VanDevelde (Craig); nieces and nephew Felicia Faustin, Conner VanDevelde (Kristen), and Morgan VanDevelde; his newly-born grandson Henry (Alexandra and Eric); and many other loving family and friends. He joins the heavenly presence of his father Thomas Faustin, Sr. and brother Master Sergeant Thomas Faustin, Jr.. David was a loving husband, father, grandpa, son, brother, mentor, life coach, and friend to all who knew him.
As many know, David’s favorite book was Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. In fact, it was required reading for his family. The following excerpt is emblematic of his life:
“I started my life with a single absolute: that the world was mine to shape in the image of my highest values and never to be given up to a lesser standard, no matter how long or hard the struggle.”
He “never gave up, never gave in” throughout his life.
David was born on March 12, 1962, and was raised in Essexville and Turner, Michigan, where he grew up working on his family’s Charles Hugo’s Centennial Farm. There, he learned the values of hard work, perseverance, and constant learning. These traits were the foundation of his life, weaving their ways into his many accolades: earning salutatorian at Garber High School, becoming the first person in his family to go to college (Michigan Technological University), graduating first in his class in Civil Engineering, starting his own structural engineering company, Structural Design & Inspections, Inc. (SDI) in 1989, and designing over 40,000 homes in South Florida during his 35-year tenure leading the family business.
David met Janice at the age of 20. They were instantly smitten with one another, and maintained a long distance relationship throughout their college years. They bonded over their dreams of family, lofty goals, and sense of adventure. David and Janice were married on December 26, 1987, and continued building their life together. When David was 27 years old, they purchased their first property: a plot of land in an undeveloped area in Delray Beach, Florida. Together, with their bare hands, they built their first dream home, where he and Janice raised their three tenacious, kind-hearted, and strong daughters. That house holds many memories: Friday family movie nights, Sunday family dinners, Christmas parties, Eric’s first time meeting the family, and some of Grandma’s last days, to name just a few. Building this home was the first of many endeavors David undertook to provide a safe and loving environment for his family.
David deeply believed in the gift of hard work and spent much of his time working. Throughout his life, he continued to give this gift through his labors of love: expanding his first home to include a backyard space and an office building for his company, SDI; building a beautiful, complex dock and lakeshore for the family to enjoy summertimes on Lake James, North Carolina; learning to captain his sport-fishing boat and taking family and friends on many adventures around the Caribbean; and, his biggest labor of love and dream: carefully designing and crafting a “castle” on the shores of Lake Michigan. He died doing what he loved, building for his family. The Faustin family intends on completing his “castle” in honor of him chasing his dreams.
David was a protector. He loved fiercely and was devoted to his convictions. Above all, David loved spending quality time with his family (and friends – his extended family). He loved sunsets over the water and a good glass of pinot noir, long dinner time conversations, passionate debates, and a boisterous game of Euchre. He loved jet skiing and snowmobiling with his son-in-law, Eric, and strategizing life dreams with Alexandra while sitting on the porch in Michigan. Jacqueline spent many years challenging him, which he loved, and often, they both left conversations with perspective gained and dreams expanded. He loved acting goofy and working construction with his “Ivy League Iron-Worker” Victoria. David had a joy for life, and it was palpable, especially when you saw him and Jan frequently dancing to live music together.
David was a Dream Chaser. When he put his mind to something, he did it – to utter perfection. He built a life with his wife, Jan, and brought all three of his baby girls into the world and they raised them into feisty, strong-willed, spunky, and independent women. David and Jan instilled these qualities into their children. Alexandra earned her law degree from Boston University and is a top of class life sciences attorney at a large international law firm, Goodwin Procter. Jacqueline is a natural born leader; she gave both a Ted Talk and the Furman University Commencement speech and now is a Vice President of an international adventure travel company at the age of 25. Victoria graduated from Dartmouth College with a dual degree and double thesis in Neuroscience and Studio Art, with honors. She is the first Ivy League alum in the family. David also fully embraced his son-in-law and is so proud of his accomplishments. Eric obtained his MEng in biomedical engineering and runs his own biomedical consulting company, Ionic Cytometry Solutions. David was the world’s best life coach: acting as an iron compass for his family.
David will be deeply grieved. His legacy will live on through his soulmate, Jan, his children, his newly-born grandson, and his extended family and friends. A day will not go by without someone thinking of David Charles Faustin and the magnanimous, dynamic, and larger-than-life individual he was.
David’s high school yearbook quote and life motto that he lived and died by was:
“Happy the man who dreams dreams and is willing to pay the price to make them come true.”
There will be a Celebration of Life at Stone Funeral Home on Wednesday June 19, 2024, at 6:00 PM officiated by Father Paul Greve with a one hour visitation prior to the Prayer and Eulogy Service. Funeral Mass will be held at Holy Childhood of Jesus Catholic Church of Harbor Springs on Thursday June 20, 2024, at 1:00 PM officiated by Father James Bearss with a luncheon to follow in the Parish Hall. Both services will be live-streamed for those unable to attend in-person. Details are forthcoming. All are welcome.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made in David’s memory to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation at 2361 Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, NY 10306.
This obituary was written in classic Faustin style: a compilation of Alexandra and Eric, Jacqueline, Victoria, and Janice's voices.Jacqueline pieced these thoughts together to express David’s soul.
Services are in the care of Stone Funeral Home.
Notification Published by Stone Funeral Home, Inc.
Please contact Stone Funeral Home, Inc. if you wish to report any errors in this notification, or if you would like any additional information.
